Huron Learning Center rejoices

TRACI L. WEISENBACH, Tribune Staff Writer

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, February 24, 2009

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HURONCOUNTY—Fat Tuesday turned out to be Fabulous Tuesday for Huron Learning Center and Huron Intermediate School District employees, as they learned the $4.2 million learning center bond proposal passed by more than 400 votes.

Voters approved the proposal 2,587 to 2,150, a difference of 437 votes, according to unofficial election results released Tuesday night by the Huron County Clerk’s Office.

In May 2008, voters turned down the same proposal 1,092 to 914. Therefore, Tuesday’s victory was twice as sweet for the HISD and HLC employees, who have been working for several months on a campaign to educate voters on the importance of the proposal.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said HLC Principal Jill Iskow, who gathered with about 12 HISD and HLC representatives Tuesday night to wait for the results. “Our students will all be grateful for the community support, and the HISD and its employees are thankful.”

“I’m really excited,” said HISD Superintendent Bob Colby. “It’s a great thing for our county and for our special needs kids and their families. I think we’ve done a good job of communicating what this is all about, and our county is now much more aware of the issues of equity and adequacy (in education).”

Colby said he will soon be contacting the construction and architectural firms that will be working on the project, which will add 38,000 square feet to the current learning center facility, located at 1299 S. Thomas Road. The extra space will be for classrooms, therapy rooms, a gymnasium and storage space. The project also will include parking lot improvements to ease traffic flow.

The project also will include adding office space to the learning center for HISD central office employees. The HISD central office is currently located on Soper Road, and with the passage of the bond issue, it will be consolidated with the learning center building. The Soper Road building will be put up for sale. When sold, proceeds will be used to support the cost of renovations at the learning center.

Colby said a lot of preparation work needs to take place before construction can begin, including obtaining bids from contractors.

“We probably won’t break ground until May 2010,” he said.

In addition to the $4.2 million bond, the HISD board agreed to use $2 million of its special education fund balance to pay for the $6.2 million project.

Colby said depending on how the federal stimulus package irons out, it’s possible that some of that funding may be able to be used for the bond project. If so, the HISD could reduce the millage or could reduce the number of years on the bond, thereby reducing the cost for taxpayers.

“This could really go a long way in getting the project done,” he said.

Under the proposal approved by voters, .17 mills will be levied for 20 years. For a person with a home valued at $100,000, the cost would be $8.50 per year. For a home valued at $45,000, the cost would be $3.83 per year.

As for Tuesday’s election results, the numbers indicate that 10 townships did not pass the bond proposal: Colfax, Fairhaven, Grant, Hume, Lincoln, Meade, Sheridan, Sherman, Sigel and Verona. However, in most of these townships, the margin between the “yes” and “no” votes was minimal.

A total of 4,926 voters visited the polls.

According to the Huron County Clerk’s Office, the Board of Canvassers will be meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday to certify the election results.